Gateways: Rise of the Maelstrom
by DarthDakka
Summary: (B5 AU/DW Season 4) Fate and chaos are generous, if fickle creatures. Echoes of the past, concealed consequences of one's actions and oneself- these are the gifts they offer. It is the nature of reality that the brightest light casts the darkest shadow. First book in the Gateways series.
1. Prologue: Nexus

**Prologue: Down the Rabbit Hole**

**Part 1: ****Nexus**

* * *

"You just don't get it, do you? An army's nothing. 'Cos those ordinary people - they're the key. The most ordinary person could change the world."  
-**The Tenth Doctor**, Doctor Who: _The Age of Steel_

"The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote."  
- **Kosh Naranek**, Babylon 5_: Believers_

**(*)**

**March 4th, 2005**

Rose Tyler had been having a pretty normal day. Woke up. Bolted down a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Had a shower. Got dressed. Jumped on the bus to work. Spent hours of putting up with customers going on about stupid things (The hanger on this top claimed it was a size 6 but the tag clearly said it was an 8. So they blamed _her_ for it). Crossed the street to have a relatively quick lunch with Mickey. Came back to deal with more pestering from the customers and managers. Heard that blessed announcement that the store was closing in five minutes.

And then her day had gone weird.

Being threatened by shop dummies in the store basement was a new experience for Rose. Having a stranger grab her hand and telling her to run was a new experience. Watching said stranger pull the arm off a dummy as it tried to attack was a new experience. Having that stranger jokingly tell her that one of her co-workers was dead was a new experience.

"That's just not funny, that's sick!"

Rose had gotten really tired of new experiences.

"Hold on!" the stranger yelled, ignoring her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and forcefully pushed her to the side. He pulled something silver and tube-shaped from his leather coat and pointed it at the lift controls."Mind your eyes."

There was a buzzing sound and a glow of blue light. Rose gave a yelp of surprise as a spray of sparks shot from the silver panel on the wall.

"I've had enough of this now!" she shouted at his back as he hurried off, putting the silver whatever-it-was away.

She followed him down the back hallway, dodging around a rack of clothing. "Who are you, then? Who's that lot down there?"

The man hurried on, still ignoring her.

"I said, who are they?" Rose demanded, her voice angry.

"They're made of plastic. Living plastic creatures," the stranger explained, bounding up a small stairway. Rose followed, bewildered. He must have been joking around... He _had_ to be, right? "And they're being controlled by a relay device on the roof. Which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this."

With that he yanked out a box-shaped mess of wires and electronic parts from his coat pocket. If it was supposed to be a bomb, it looked like it came out of a cartoon. It was even _beeping_. "So!" the stranger said, opening a fire exit door for her, his voice growing scornful, "I'm going to go upstairs and blow it up, and I might well die in the process. But don't worry about me, no. Go home, go on! Go and have your lovely beans on toast." Rose couldn't help but stare at him, baffled and a bit afraid while he gently shepherded her through the door. The sound of traffic echoed down the alley that ran behind Hendricks.

"Don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed," the stranger finished.

With that the door shut. Rose turned away, not sure what to think at all. A second later and the door clicked open once more. She turned back and found herself face to face with the stranger again.

"I'm the Doctor, by the way, what's your name?" he asked.

"Rose." She replied automatically, dazed.

"Nice to meet you, Rose." said the Doctor. Holding up the… thing? bomb? whatever-it-was? in one hand, he advised, "Run for your life!"

**(*)**

Meanwhile, in another universe, the faint snarling rumble of an engine grew louder. With a lurch, the bus hit another bump. Justin Chapman didn't blink as he was jostled in his uncomfortable plastic seat. It hadn't been the first time this had happened since they left the long, empty highway between the town of Lee's Providence and the college. And, he reflected, it certainly wouldn't be the last.

Outside the windows, the vague glow growing on the horizon made the shadows advance down from the mountains. The peaks turned from black to blue, growing more visible. Here and there he could see the lights of houses on the outskirts of town and the twin specks of headlights on the distant freeway. And trees. Everywhere, trees as far as the eye could see. Justin thought he'd probably never seen so many bloody trees in his life before moving here.

The bus continued forward, picking up speed and bouncing over more bumps as it approached the town. This time, the twenty-three year old almost lost his balance in the bench-like chair. He gripped the front with one hand, holding on to his book with the other. It was small and, in spite of the clear plastic jacket put there to protect it, the plain brown cover was worn with age. Fortunately, the bus had plenty of interior lights, so he could read easily if he wanted to.

As the ride smoothed out and the babble of the passengers' voices again rose, Justin went back to reading - or appeared to. Actually, he barely noticed the words on the page as he listened to the conversations around him.

"I'm telling you, he'd be the better choice of linebacker…"

"…that time when…"

"It's weird how, in some movies, the villain is a totally normal guy…except for that he's got an evil plot. Kinda makes you paranoid, right? Anyone could be evil..."

"Shoulda studied more…"

"You've said that for the last two tests…ever gonna do it?"

Most of it was just gossip, rumors or discussions…small talk. All and all, not exactly interesting. Still, knowledge was power. And enough 'useless knowledge' often yielded the unexpected.

"They'd have no choice but to attack them head-on. A full broadside from a Star Destroyer…"

Justin couldn't help but shake his head a little at that comment. Space did _not_ work in just two dimensions.

Eyes briefly flickered over the words at the top of the page, the first sentence. He'd read the book so many times over the years that he knew almost by memory what the rest would be.

_All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near._

Of course, having something memorized didn't necessarily mean that you understood it. A fact that several of his classmates appeared to have trouble grasping.

But no, that wasn't quite fair, not to mention right. His grades weren't perfect either, so he didn't have too much room to talk. Justin rubbed his eyes, tired. Grades seemed so childish now, so useless in the face of the world and what had happened.

"Hey, what ya reading?" someone said. Justin looked up, surprised at the intrusion. It was one of the many students at the uni he hadn't bothered to get acquainted with. The fair-haired boy was giving the book a curious look.

"_The Art of War_." Justin replied. He tilted his head slightly, a bit puzzled as to why a random person that he'd never met was trying to talk to him.

"Oh neat. What's it about?"

Justin tried not to show his annoyance and wondered for a moment if this guy was just trying to mess with him. It wasn't as if the title wasn't a rather large giveaway. No, he decided. The question probably came from honest ignorance.

"It's an ancient Chinese military essay that's credited to Sun Tzu. And it's probably one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy in the world. It teaches more a way of thinking then exact plans."

"But that was written back when people were fighting with bows and arrows. How could that still be useful, especially after...?" was the confused reply.

Justin smirked slightly.

"Sun Tzu emphasized the importance of positioning in the face of changing conditions. And that planning, in the sense of having an established list, doesn't work because in a changing environment competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations. Both are parts of warfare that have never truly changed."

"Oh. Neat."

"Maybe you'd like to read it when I'm done with it?" He'd never had much patience for people who were…well a bit daft, but perhaps it was time to make an exception or two.

The other boy hesitated and Justin watched his face, wondering why he was weighing his words. Sake of politeness perhaps?

He felt the hum of the engine change through his seat.

"I don't know…you sure you want to lend me your book?"

Justin bit back 'Of course not. Why did you think I told you I would?', and said "Actually it's the library's. I lost my copy before I moved here." That lost book had been one of the few items Justin had growing up that belonged to his father.

As the bus bumped over a pothole, Justin saw the other boy's eyes widen for an instant as he made the possible connection. He could almost see the equation of _British accent_, plus _losing personal belongings_, plus _moving_ forming in his head.

_Took you long enough_, he thought, swearing a little inside. He really didn't want anyone's pity. It was a bit irritating, honestly. Mostly Justin refused to be defined by what had happened at the fall of London. It's not as if he was that unique among the hundreds of people who'd survived the chaos.

_Besides surviving and getting out alive after the worst of it happened._ Justin thought with a pang. He let the thought simmer and then let it go.

He never was good at lying to himself.

The other boy did something that surprised him a bit. He simply shrugged and said "Maybe. I'll think about reading it."

The engine made an angry, metallic screech as the bus slowly decelerated. After a moment's uncertainty the bus came to a halt. There was a loud hiss, followed by the dull mechanical whir of the bus door folding back, the engine still steadily running, spilling billowing clouds of exhaust into the chilly morning air. As the handful of backpack-toting students dutifully began leaving the rumbling vehicle, Justin stood up, slipped on his backpack and stepped out into the aisle with them. From somewhere towards the front of the bus, the sound of music drifted from the speakers. He thought the beat sounded familiar.

_Come you masters of war_

_You that build all the guns_

_You that build the death planes_

_You that build all the bombs…_

With a flicker of annoyance Justin recognized the song: Bob Dylan's Masters of War. Sung by the group Staple Singers, if Justin remembered correctly. Given how often it was played, he absently wondered if the people at the radio station just _really_ liked that song.

…_You that never done nothin'_

_But build to destroy_

_You play with my world_

_Like it's your little toy_

_You put a gun in my hand_

_And you hide from my eyes_

_And you turn and run farther_

_When the fast bullets fly._

Since it was near the center of town, the houses on this street were generally older. Several of them looked like they dated back to the American Revolutionary War, when Lee's Providence had been founded.

Justin stepped out onto the brick pavement. As the bus pulled away from the street corner and the other students each went their separate ways, he looked about cautiously. Even though the curfew should have ended an hour ago, cops on occasion had been overzealous. A breath of wind touched his black hair. His mind sluggishly recalled that the curfew had been lifted almost three days ago.

Justin started home. As he turned to cross the street, there was a splash and he awkwardly jerked his foot back at the unexpected coldness. Now bit more awake, Justin looked down at the puddle, trying to step around it. His brown-hazel eyes stared back at him. He caught sight of the jagged scrap-like scar along the side of his left jaw and Justin's hand came up to briefly touch it. He still felt a bit taken aback by the sight of it.

Seeing motion in the water, he looked up. Justin saw a dot of light in the sky shooting overhead in an arc. Seconds later it disappeared into the west. Probably one of the new rocket planes, he thought to himself. Flying to some base in the Midwest, filled with posh scientists and government officials.

Suspended high in the sky, the blanket of stars twinkled mischievously in all their fading glory. Justin watched them, however, not with wonder but a hint of suspicion. He paused only a few seconds before returning to what passed for a leisurely pace, his one shoe squishing with every step.

For almost two months he'd been living here, at Lee's Providence, with his mum and fifteen year-old sister. It hadn't been simple. Moving here, adjusting. But, he reflected, chaos and conflict was an inevitable and natural part of life. Despite being aware of that, it'd taken him a long time to fully comprehend it.

Leaving the road, he stepped into a hard-packed dirt alleyway, a shortcut. Broken shards of glass bottles crunched under his shoes in the darkness. The sound of an unfamiliar woman speaking, almost singing, reached his ears. The voice drifted from one of the houses in front of at the end of the alley. Justin stopped, listening.

"Ways of old to guide and guard, paths to bring and send, circles both in Light and Dark, from starting until end."

For a moment Justin strained his ears, listening, more out of curiosity's sake for anything else. Hearing nothing more, he shrugged and walked on. It'd probably just been a radio or som-

Without warning the darkened street rippled and distorted around him. Justin had the briefest sensation of being yanked sideways, of somehow going backwards, yet staying still, and an even briefer one of freefalling. Silvery dots danced in his darkening vision as a bitter cold sliced through him. His bones felt like they would shatter and his skin would burn away. He was struggling, his body struggling to breath, gasping for air that wasn't there. Primitive animal panic quickly drowned any attempt at rational thought.

Justin thrashed, tried to yell, but couldn't.

Slowly, the feeling of solid ground beneath him returned. For a moment Justin merely lay there. He felt drained, emotionally and physically. His vision swam in nauseatingly when he tried to open his eyes.

"What…the…hell…" he groaned. His mind scrambled for some semblance of darkness, the cold, the crushing feeling of weight…what had happened? Why'd it stopped?

Justin recalled, or at least he thought he recalled, something else, something different. The memory hovered just beyond his clutch. He briefly struggled, between desperate gasps for air, reaching out before it could slip away and become little more than a half remembered dream.

The darkness-

(Too many bright fiery eyes gazed down on him from a vast looming shadow shape. A cavernous mouth grinned, showing needle like teeth that were long and uneven.

"-Then my friend….we have a deal.-"

Justin's body had jerked violently, a marionette on the strings of a startled puppeteer. A too-hot sensation flooded his body.)

Justin shook his head—had he indeed seen it or was it just a delusion of his dying mind?

Sheer force of will pushed him back onto unsteady feet, and he opened his eyes. Instantly, Justin froze. The sound of alien klaxons replaced the ringing in his ears.

Around him, humanoid figures with bone masks for faces and glowing bulbous red eyes aimed bazooka-like weapons at him.

"Oh shite."

**(*)**

From her position in the darkness, a woman's golden eyes rested on where Justin Chapman had been standing. She let out a long slow breath, one that she hadn't entirely realized she'd been holding. The last nagging uncertainly was gone, replaced with almost giddy happiness. There was always a danger crossing timelines- for her, even more so now.

What she'd done would unleash merry hell in her own universe, but at least it would make things _interesting_. But from where she stood, it already had. With that she walked away, disappearing in a swirl of vortex light, her reason for being there complete.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Just as a side note, this story will contain multiple original characters, a handful of which will be central characters to the story. Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcomed.


	2. Chapter 1: The Passage of Time

**Chapter 1: The Passage of Time**

* * *

"Where does discontent start? You are warm enough, but you shiver. You are fed, yet hunger gnaws you. You have been loved, but your yearning wanders in new fields. And to prod all these there's time, the Bastard Time." **-****John Steinbeck**

"Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."  
**-Arthur C**. **Clarke**

**(*)**

**March 4th 2008 (8 months after the Battle of Canary Wharf)**

Rose Tyler shifted in her seat, restless and a bit bored.

The inside of the helicopter was painted an ugly mix of grey and green, and despite the four other people sitting nearby, it was mostly quiet. Each seemed wrapped up in their thoughts or was otherwise occupied. They were silent, but no one had been very talkative for a while now. Despite the silence being companionable, it made the inside of the helicopter feel bigger then it truly was. She'd worked with this Torchwood recon team, and teams like them, in the past.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a change in the rotors' pitch, and a moment later she felt the copter beginning to descend. Rose glanced up, reflexively. Then relaxed, chiding herself for the moment of fear. Trying to ignore the way her skin crawled. Unless she was mistaken about the time, they were approaching the end of their journey.

Seated across from Rose, a dark haired woman looked up from double-checking her gear. She leaned forward and asked "So, do the higher-ups have any clue what we're getting into that they just didn't feel like sharing, or are we flying blind?"

"Some, yeah." Out of habit, Rose gave a quick glance at what Ashley was holding, but it didn't seem to be particularly important. Ashley was usually the leader of this particular team, though she didn't seem to have much problem working with Rose or listening to her suggestions on the occasions when Rose was temporarily attached to the team. Like Rose and the other people on the team, Ashley was wearing a grey and black Torchwood uniform. Rose was of the opinion that it made them look a bit like bellhops.

"It's not from Earth, we know that much. I sent m'self down to see if I couldn't identify it." Which was the truth, basically. It had been her decision to join the team and come down here, despite having to argue with superiors to let her do this. Besides it helped keep the part of her that was missing, an empty ache and a hope that someday, it'll be filled again. Put right. Put back the way it should be.

If wasn't as if there was much chance anything would try to hurt her anyway, Rose thought a bit sulkily. Apparently she was an expert and was only to be used for emergencies. She hated that. Wasn't her experience reason enough for her to be here, to be useful?

Rose shook herself and got to her feet as they landed with a thump. Through the tiny windows, Rose could see what looked like a handful of small shipping containers in a forest clearing. She recalled that the briefing had said that this was the drop off point for supplies. It was one of the only places flat enough for helicopters to land that wasn't covered in trees.

"I've got the new girl looking into local legends; possible there's a connection like there is now and then." Ashley grinned at Rose, packing her equipment back up. "One of these days we'll have to make the Yanks shut down that show on their History Channel or they'll finally find aliens who really did meddle in human history."

Rose snorted. "Hope they don't," she said, beginning to help Ashley with her work. "What else would we laugh at on our days off?"

"Reality television? Oh, wait, no, that would give us nightmares." Ashley shifted to the side a bit so Rose could help more easily. Meanwhile, the door at the helicopter's rear swung open and Rose could hear the rest of the team filing out.

"Well, that's us ready to go then." Ashley said, zipping her bag back up. Rose slipped her own bag over her shoulder.

"Where's the new girl?" Rose asked as she followed her outside, the rotor still spinning overhead forcing her to talk in a near shout. The ground squished wetly under her feet and the damp aroma of the forest filled the air.

"Emily, you mean? Over there with Micah, she's got a crush on him. Won't do her any good, he's all head-over-heels for Ravenwood. You know her, right? The American liaison?"

Rose squinted against the ray of sunlight that was getting in her eyes, absently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Emily had one arm half-folded over her chest and she was alternating between staring fiercely at the landscape and—well—staring fiercely at the landscape. "Poor girl," Rose mumbled. "That going to mess anything up around here?"

"Hopefully not. 'Course, with those two she might get invited to a three-way, who the hell knows?" Ashley laughed. "Not like I can talk, my half-brother's not even Torchwood and he's got that sort of thing going on."

Rose shrugged. "Pilot, you're clear."

"Roger that." The helicopter's blades sped up and it was in the air within moments. As soon as it was far enough away that the wind caused by the blades had died down, Emily approached them. "All I could find about local legends involved wolves," she said.

"Wolves? Are we being serious now? There _are_ no wolves around here." Ashley stated in disbelief.

"Well," Emily said, her eyes nervously darting between the two. "Um. ...no."

Rose frowned a little and asked, "Have there ever been?"

She watched Ashley pull up something on her phone. "Doesn't appear that there were. What the hell?"

At that moment a red Jeep with a flatbed trailer hooked to the back rounded a nearby hill. It sped down the dirt road toward the team, wheels splashing through the puddles left by the previous night's thunderstorm.

Rose tensed, instinctively stepping in front of the other two, squinting to see who was inside the car. "One of yours?" she asked, mock-casually.

"No, I haven't a clue who that is - looks like a uni student?"

Rose clenched her jaw as the Jeep slammed around the last term, skidding to a halt just inches from one of the trailers. The moment it looked safe enough to do so, she hurried forward, fully prepared to either tell off the newcomer for reckless driving or help them if they turned out to be injured. Ashley followed more calmly.

The young man who stepped out of the Jeep when they approached was short and sandy-haired. He didn't appear to be hurt, and in fact smiled politely at them.

"Hi, name's Jacob. The prof sent me to take you guys to the main camp."

"Hello, Jacob," Rose said. Her tone grew disapproving as she added, "Any reason you were driving like that?"

Jacob looked a bit taken aback. After a moment he said, "No real reason. It's nothing I haven't done before. I've driven out here dozens of times."

Rose raised an eyebrow, but didn't push the subject. "Don't do it again, yeah? Thought you were being attacked or something."

"It's all right, Jacob, we were all eager puppies once, but let's not break traffic laws, hmm?" Ashley quipped, and then called for the rest of her team to come over and join them.

Jacob seemed a bit embarrassed by that. "Uh, yeah, of course."

Rose shook her head, and after placing her bag on the flatbed with the others, climbed into the back of the jeep with the rest of the team.

(*)

The trip to the archaeologist's camp lasted for a long, uncomfortable hour. The muddy road was irregular, not helped by the fact that their route took them over quite a few hills. The growing darkness only slowed them further. Jacob likewise remained silent, and Rose wasn't entirely sure if the cause came from a need to concentrate on driving or if he was still smarting from her earlier comment.

It was only when they reached a collection of trailers that Jacob finally spoke up, giving them directions to where they'd be staying. As the team members got out of the car and collected their bags, he asked, "By the way, which one of you is in charge?"

"I am," Rose responded, deciding to keep things simple. Best to not muddy the chain of command too much; and in any case, while she and Ashley were technically of equal rank, she had the command here.

"Oh," Jacob said, suddenly looking embarrassed again. Probably from the realization that he'd gotten a bit of a lecture from the 'boss' of the team. "Just thought I'd suggest that might want to speak with Professor Hagopian when you get the chance. She's the one running things."

"Sure. Any idea where she might be?"Rose thought better of pointing out that she did know who the professor was. There wasn't any sense in making Jacob feel worse by humiliating him further. It would be a good idea to speak with the person in change soon anyway.

"Probably in her trailer. It's towards the back of the camp. You can't miss it. It's the light blue one."

She thanked him and he walked off towards one of the trailers. By now she'd noticed that a few people were glancing over her and Ashley's team while they went about their business. Some seemed curious. Others were glaring or otherwise looked unhappy.

Rose raised an eyebrow at one of the people glaring, but didn't comment. Torchwood wasn't exactly the most popular establishment in the world—most of the agents had a habit of barging in, not telling anyone a word of what was going on, stealing half their stuff and then leaving without even an apology. She went about her job differently, but she would have liked doing it a lot more if there weren't animosity at every assignment.

"Well, this is going to be fun," Ashley said with a sigh. She ignored the glaring otherwise; Micah did too, while Daniel glared back and Emily looked nervous.

"Isn't it always?" Rose asked, with a wry grin for her comrades. Dwelling on the discomfort was only going to make it worse; and, after all, there _was_ something interesting around here, or Torchwood wouldn't have come.

"I think I went to uni with a couple of this lot," Ashley commented, gravel crunching underfoot as they walked. Passing by a group of people talking among themselves, she asked "What is _with_ the wolf thing?"

"Lady, that one's anybody's guess." replied one of them, a dark haired man wearing a red shirt.

"Feel free to make up your own theories," commented the only woman in the group. "Trust me," she added, pushing her brown bangs out of her eyes, "we've heard them all."

Another man, this one with messy blond hair, snorted. "What was the one Jenny came up with again? Time rifts?"

This got a grin from the last guy, teeth flashing white against his dark skin. "Yeah, that was it. Mind you, I think she was drunk at the time..."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Probably. Although it would make a good idea for a television program."

Ashley, shook her head. "No, I mean the general obsession with wolves around here, seeing as they're not native creatures..."

The blond and the guy in the red shirt left before she'd finished the question, responding to a call from someone a few trailers away, and the other two paused to introduce themselves as Tony and Andrea. Ashley and Rose offered their names in turn, but it was obvious that Ashley was still waiting on her answer.

"Sorry, we're still working on that," Tony said. "Seems to have been sort of a mixed history, really. Some of the artifacts indicate reverence for wolves; some a terror of them. Not that the two things can't go together, but it's still odd."

Andrea, looking a bit annoyed that Tony had got there first, added, "It doesn't help that most of the discoveries took place ages ago. They were still working out how to date things back then, and on top of that kept terrible records."

Rose bit the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. Temporal rifts seemed like a decent enough theory, but... She shook herself mentally; the Bad Wolf had been a message, and now it was over. Wasn't it?

Andrea was still talking, so Rose made herself listen. "I've gotta say, 'obsession' is the right word. Only place I've seen that sort of thing was at a furry convention."

"Furry? Sounds like a rug," Tony said. "Seeing as it's you, and you know about some pretty weird shit, do I want to know?"

"You really, really don't," Andrea said, and Rose decided that she didn't either. She also didn't want to hear more of the banter, mildly amusing though it was. They had business to take care of right now.

"Regardless, we can discuss that later, yeah?" She scratched her nose. "What about the artifacts? Why not look at them again, do new research?"

"A lot of the historical context comes from where they were found. The soil depth and so on. Which weren't noted or are so vague they amount to 'I found it over thataway.' "

"Okay then. What other cultures were they in contact with? Could they have run into someone who did have something to do with wolves?" Rose bit back on her irritation.

"Besides the Picts and the handful of Britons and Celts who made their way here from England and Ireland?" Tony asked. "I think the Romans were here - Drea?"

Andrea shrugged. "There was an outpost somewhere in this region, but really, you're better off asking the Professor for details; she's worked here on and off for years. No one knows it better."

Rose didn't think the Romans had made it this far into Scotland in her universe. It seemed to her that whenever she started to feel at home, another difference would come along, reminding her that this wasn't home. That she didn't belong here.

It didn't help that everything about this earth felt …_off _in a way that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She'd mention it to Mickey and her mum but neither one of them said that they'd felt or noticed anything. But the nagging feeling had persisted, so she was fairly sure that it wasn't a result of her over-active imagination, like her nightmares were.

(*)

Rose firmly knocked on the grey door to Professor Hagopian's trailer. By now the sun had all but set behind the hills, casting the camp into an early twilight. The deep hum of generators grew louder while the camp became quieter.

Off to her side, Ashley leaned her shoulder against the side of the trailer. After some quick discussion while they'd unpacked and settled into their trailer- the place had smelled faintly of mildew- the two of them had agreed that it would be for the best if they'd both went to talk with the professor. At the very least it would save either one of them from having to repeat everything. Also, with Ashley's greater knowledge of history she stood a fair chance of picking up any important details that Rose might miss- lies or omissions- that might be made, especially if Rose's suspicions were right.

It wouldn't be the first time that someone had tried to keep something from Torchwood. Often the person in question either was trying to get famous -or they were under the influence of something else. Rose fought down a shudder at the memories of the latter.

"Come in, the door should be unlocked." Said a voice from within.

A woman who Rose estimated to be in her late 40's looked up from a cup of tea.

The older woman's grey eyes narrowed slightly as she looked Rose over and Rose thought she saw a glimmer of recognition, almost surprise.

After they'd introduced themselves, Rose said "I was wondering if you could tell us a little about the history of the area. But to start with, have you or anyone else noticed anything or found anything unusual in the last week or so?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Roughly 48 hours ago one of Torchwood's satellites' picked up an energy trace from a unknown source." Ashley explained as she and Rose sat down in a pair of fold-out chairs. "Unfortunately, it was too small to get a fix on, which means we only got a general location instead of a precise one. But we were able to narrow it down to an area about five kilometers wide. "

"Your dig site is smack dab in the middle of it." Rose said.

With a sigh, Professor Hagopian began to talk. "It started when we found a cave up in the mountains. Not that unusual in this area. But what was strange was what we found inside it: a cave painting. Unfortunately, we don't have the equipment on hand to take photographs. Or to be more accurate, cameras that can take the pictures without risking damage to the artwork."

Rose could see Ashley leaning forward, interested.

"Sorry, but why's that unusual? And why would cameras damage it?"Rose couldn't help but ask.

"Most cave paintings that have been found are in Spain or France. But some from later eras have been discovered in England. And in almost all those cases, the art only remained in a good condition because the cave offered protection from most of the elements, which helped to preserve them better. Exposing them to camera flashes or even to a lesser extent, carbon dioxide from people, after all that time would decay the pigments.

"Oh. I see," Which she did somewhat.

"We found quite a few artifacts elsewhere in the cave but the one I think you will find the most interesting will be this." Hagopian explained, retrieving a long box from a cabinet. Setting it down on her desk, the Professor carefully opened it up. "We found it with a sword of similar make."

A long dagger with a polished, almost silvery, blade glinted from within the box. Rose was surprised by how untouched it looked. With the exception of the missing handle, which had been snapped off a little ways up from the crossguard, there was very little rust or damage.

"How'd something like this end up near a cave painting? I can't imagine that's normal."Rose looked it over, curious.

"Normally it's not. Though it's likely that the same clan or maybe a different one could have been using the site over time."

"Don't touch it." Hagopian suddenly snapped. Rose wasn't sure what she was talking about, and then realized her hand had been reaching out towards the box.

"Sorry." Rose muttered, embarrassed. What on Earth had she been thinking?

"You said you found a sword, yeah?"

"Yes, it's in storage." Turning to Ashley she said, "And that was our guess as well…until we stumbled on to…well. This."

Taking the picture from the Professor, Rose studied the picture. It was of a large cavern with stone walls half-looming out of the darkness. There was a man standing off the side, waving at the camera. In the center of the image was a blurry three-sided pyramid, which given how close the man was standing to it, was roughly the same height. She couldn't tell if it was made of a ghostly green crystal or some other stone. Stalagmites and stalactites had partially grown over it.

"At first we thought it might be some kind of prank. Or a part of an old movie set that got dumped out here ages ago. And once we realized that might not be the case…You have to understand, if we'd reported finding something like this without trying to cover all the possibilities of what it is and where it came from, it would hurt not just my credibility, but that of almost everyone involved." Hagopian continued as they looked the picture over.

"No that's alright. It's not an odd reaction."Rose said, trying to sound reassuring but not condescending."When would be a good time to go up there?"

Hagopian frowned. "Tomorrow would be your best bet. Even with everything we've done to make the trip up there go smoothly it's still difficult at night. And after the storm we had, I wouldn't suggest risking it."

Rose hesitated, wondering how to ask her next question in light of what she'd been "told" a little earlier. Archaeologists usually didn't touch stuff, but someone could have—

Rose blinked. She felt like she was missing something.

Oh well, it couldn't have been that important, could it?

"Then that's when we'll be heading up. Thank you for your time." Rose said, glancing at Ashley. They'd discuss events when they got back to their trailer.


End file.
